What's going on?
Cat retraced her footsteps after seeing a bonfire surrounded by makeshift tents. It almost missed her sight but the smell of burning wood attracted her attention. After doing a run-up, she jumped from where she was and landed on the third floor of the unfinished building so she could take a closer look at the camp.
She hid behind one of the tents and inspected her surroundings.
No signs of life.
Cat didn't waste any time peering on each of the tents. She knew that there were supplies scattered throughout the map but she wasn't expecting a huge haul on her first trip as a scout. Canned goods, blankets and pillows, and necessities were scattered inside the tents. To her surprise, she also found two flags inside two of the tents.
Wait? Is this a trap? Cat wondered but she brushed off the fact. If it were, my sub-conscious would've warned me about it already. Best leave it for now.
Grabbing a regular-sized bag from one of the tents, she began filling it up with canned goods, necessities, and a swiss knife she found on the edge of a blanket. She only prioritized those things they really needed since her baggage was limited. There was also the concern of taking the flags, she couldn't carry everything all by herself.
Or could she?
"Really?! You really think this would... "
Cat didn't hear the rest. As soon as she heard voices, she quickly hid behind one of the tents. "Tsk~! Why did they have to come back now? I almost got everything!" Cat scowled.
Cat glanced from the edges of the tent, getting a glimpse of the oncoming workers.
The workers were all middle-aged men, each of them carrying a defeated regular humanoid and bringing it to their camp. They were all talking so casually as if they were just hanging out for a one-night camp. When they got to the middle of their camp, they dropped their load of humanoids and started unpacking. There were eight humanoids in total, each of them lying lifelessly on the cold concrete. "How could they defeat that many?" Cat asked herself. "I guess regular humanoids weren't that strong then." She concluded.
Her question was soon answered when one of the men brought out scythe-like blades from his bag. Cat quickly recognized the blades since they were identical to the ones that stabbed Knuckle before.
"If we keep going like this, we might win the whole thing, right?" One of the men exclaimed. He had the same built as Jarxen but he looked older. He grabbed the metal blades from his bag and began swinging it.
"Yeah, thanks to you... but, are you sure about leaving our flags here? Someone might get it if we're not around."
"Don't worry about it. Brenard here set up like countless traps around those flags so if someone tried getting them, they won't be able to escape unless we pull them out." The man laughed in a sinister way. "As long as we have our 'weapons specialist' here, we don't have to worry about anything."
"Aight, of course. We just need'a get some o' them flags and keep gettin' them. Then we can rest easy and get the advantage for the next mock battle o' sumthin." The guy next to them muttered. His accent was so disturbing that Cat strained her ears just to listen to him.
"So there were traps inside that tent? I guess I could just wait until they leave and that's when I'll make my move." Cat thought.
....
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Inside.
The Inside was filled with different types of surroundings, making it resemble a huge city. One of these sceneries was the Forest, filled with trees with dark-green leaves. Although the Inside looked pretty man-made, the forest wasn't.
The lush trees and irregular growths of bushes made the forest look like an authentic one. Adding to that, a series of chirps and artificial sunlight added to the tranquil and peaceful atmosphere that the forest gave.
"It looked more like a huge hideout to me." Gadge shook his head, watching Red and Curl admire the forest with eyes glistening.
"What?! You don't find this beautiful?! What's wrong wi... mmph!" Curl exclaimed, triggered by Gadge's indifference.
Red covered Curl's mouth once again and the same ritual happened once again with Red getting licked on the hand. Red shivered in disgust as he held out his sticky hands. He sighed, it took him all his patience to not give Curl a whack on the forehead. "Shush! Can you please be quiet?" Red pleaded in a whisper. "We're in the middle of a mock battle and all that you're doing is giving away our positions to everyone!"
Curl swallowed her dry saliva and nodded. "Sorry."
"It's fine. Let's go."
A small clearing up ahead revealed a narrow pathway that led deeper into the forest. Red urged Curl and Gadge to follow him. To their surprise, Red went into the thick undergrowths just a few meters from the pathway.
"Hey Red, why are we taking this route? Couldn't we just take that path? ptooh~!" Gadge spat out a mouthful of cobwebs that was caught on his face. He almost screamed upon finding a palm-sized spider on his shoulder but Red slapped it to oblivion before he could react.
"This is safer. We cannot walk in the open when it comes to mock battles like these."
Curl wasn't any different. A vine caught her neck and on her struggle and then she tripped on a huge root protruding from one of the trees. Curl didn't make any noise and obediently followed behind Red after picking herself up. Red's instructions were clear— don't make any noise —and Curl wanted to follow that to the letter.
Red's lips angled upwards, revealing a faint smile towards Curl. "Here," He bashfully offered her a hand.
"Thanks... "
... ...
"... Veerius Genesys." Curl stuck out her tongue at her comeback. She knew that calling Red by his real name would trigger him to the ends of the earth.
"Forget it." Red irritably retracted his hand.
Curl didn't hesitate to grab Red's hand as she nonchalantly smiled. "Sorry, I was just kidding." She said, getting a good grip on Red's hand so he won't shake her off.
"Be careful next time."
"Look at them flirt in front of me. What a... " Gadge murmured.
Red interrupted him. "You can take my other hand if you want. I only offered mine because she was stupid enough to trip on such a huge root."
"Stupid?! Who are y-mmph~!!! Mhmmhhmphhh~!" Curl exclaimed as Red shut her off once again with his free hand.
"Thanks, but I'll be declining." Gadge took a step back. "It would just look weird."
"What do you mean? It would look like three friends walking in the park while holding each other's hands." Red laughed at Gadge's reaction. "You sure you don't want to?"
"Wha?!"
This time, it was Curl's turn to giggle.
The group followed the trail as it led to a huge clearing at the heart of the forest. In the middle of it, there were three flags stuck on the ground. The flag poles were a meter and a half in height and the flag has the size of a pillowcase. It was just an ordinary white flag with red markings.
"Wait, those are the flags right?" Gadge confirmed.
Red nodded, putting a finger on his lips. "Let's just watch here. A fight will break out soon."
"A fight? What do you mean a..."
A figure darted from the brushes, leaping towards the flag in one fell swoop. But before he could grab one, a net suddenly sprang up from under him, shooting upwards and trapping him. "HAAGH! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" The boy screamed as the net trap dangled from a tree, trapping him inside.
Suddenly, another figure appeared from the trees, jumping towards the trap. She started desperately cutting the ropes that made up the net. "I'll get you out of there." The girl gritted her teeth; she didn't' even realize that a lot of participants were already watching her, just waiting for the opportune moment to seize the flags below them.
*whish* *whish*
The girl didn't even know what hit her, she just plopped to the ground unconscious. The stick that hit her on the nape followed her fall soon after.
"Reina!!!" The boy inside the trap wailed in despair. He didn't have time to mourn, however.
As the peaceful forest was interrupted by the boy's cry of anguish, another set of workers tried their hands on the three flags that tempted them. "You got 'em big time, Squid!" One of them celebrated as they walked in the open. "Now let's get these flags and skitter the way outta here!"
The group carefully scaled the clearing so as not to step on any traps. It was a nerve-wracking sight for the ones watching but they continued nevertheless.
"Stay here," Red muttered as he started climbing the nearby tree. "And don't make any noise! I'll be back soon." He advised them once again.
Curl and Gadge nodded in response.